Seabed Gold in Peninsular India (Important)

Geological Survey of India (GSI) discovered the millions of tons of precious metals deep under the ocean surrounding peninsular India. Prospect of finding previously untapped resources in barely-exploited territory hold tremendous potential.

Exclusive Economic Zone of India
Treasure Trove on Ocean Floor
  • Identified off Mangaluru, Chennai, Mannar Basin, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and around Lakshadweep.
  • Repository of lime mud, phosphate-rich and calcareous sediments, hydrocarbons, metalliferous deposits and micronodules
  • Three years of exploration called High Resolution Seabed Mapping and Natural Resource Evaluation has generated 181,025 square km of high-resolution seabed morphological data
  • Established the occurrence of more than 10,000 million tonnes of lime mud within the Exclusive Economic Zone of India.
  • Confirmed the presence of phosphate sediment off Karwar, Mangaluru and Chennai coasts, gas hydrate in the channel-levee system of Mannar Basin off the Tamil Nadu coast, cobalt-bearing ferro-manganese crust from the Andaman Sea and micro-manganese nodules around Lakshadweep Sea.

About High Resolution Seabed Mapping and Natural Resource Evaluation

  • Discovery done by three state-of-the-art research vessels- Samudra Ratnakar, Samudra Kaustabh and Samudra Saudikama.
  • The three vessels collected thousands of surface and subsurface samples from the Indian and international waters during last 30 years
  • Main objectives to identify potential zones of favorable mineralization and evaluate marine mineral resources specifically for industries based on cement, paint, fertilizer, construction, and rare earth element.

Exclusive Economic Zone of India

A state՚s exclusive economic zone is an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea, extending seaward to a distance of no more than 200 nautical miles (370 km) out from its coastal baseline.

Exclusive Economic Zone of India

Examrace Team at Aug 21, 2021